60 seconds with ... Neil L. Pruitt Jr.

Q: What are your goals as a member of the new national long-term care commission?

A:My hope is we look at the whole system and make sure there are rational incentives. We have to take scarce resources and spread them appropriately.

One of the things we constantly do is over-regulate the system. I think it's important to balance that with incentives. I think we should reward quality, not just penalize. There's a lot of opportunity to reward quality.

I'm really interested in talking to other members of the panel and getting their ideas.

Q: Do you agree with skeptics who say this commission isn't given enough time or power?

A:That would be the easy way out, to accept that. There are a lot of great ideas out there, and some common-sense solutions. I think a lot of good will come out of this.

Q: What is the minimum to get done for you to view it as success?

A:We have to have a system in place that combines private resources and government resources, takes barriers out and is basically seamless. Right now, it's a disjointed system. Even for us, as providers, the system is very hard to navigate.